It has been a busy start to the year - settling in the clinic, recovering from a double fracture in my foot and of course the craziness of Christmas and New Year start ups.

Let's not mention the competition season for my daughter's surfing got off to an early and intensive start with us heading off to Woolongong in January as she qualified for a spot in the National Rip Curl competition and is currently competing in her first Pro Junior event in my home town. I always envisaged myself working on the road from time to time - I just didn't realise it was literally going to be 'on the road'. In saying all that, having the flexibility of working from my own business has its ups (in balance with some downs).

When it comes to commitment, she shows me a whole new level of focus - which brings me to your health.

How committed and focused are you on addressing potential health issues BEFORE vs AS they arise? Are you a reactor or pro-actor when it comes to your wellbeing?

Did you make optimistic health promises to yourself, your kids or your partner...that are you are currently breaking?

Relax, this is not one of those guilty road trips I intend on taking you on. It's more of a "Come on, get back up and let's do this together - I got your back" kind of adventures!

In the days of digital doctoring, it is so very easy to try to navigate your health using leading keyword phrases, but nothing replaces face to face contact and the sense that someone has a professional understanding of your health journey with the coaching skills to take you through to the results you are looking for.

Thankfully, I have a number of new programs available with up to date tests and even genetic profiling on your potential health weaknesses that we can select in clinic for you. It is an exciting time to be honest - never before have we been more equipped to help you keep your promises!

For the rest of February, if you book in for a Healthy Overhaul appointment - you will receive a free 30 minute Tapping for Commitment and Focus Session with me that you can incorporate at any time of the year ahead! This is $70 of value! Call on 0438461178 to set up your Healthy Overhaul Appointment or respond to this post for more information on what is included.

Valentines Day Gift Of Health - Share the Journey of Amazing Health Together

Welcome to the last few weeks before the years ends and the weeks that many start to think they are giving up any hope of maintaining their health until somewhere in January.

Mindset is a powerful tool when it comes to applying yourself to any decision. Whether it’s saving money or losing weight- mindset plays a crucial role in your health and your happiness and it bodes us all well to watch our inner talk around this time of year.

NAILING DERAILING

As humans, we are set to a number of defaults. From maintaining homeostasis to remembering the finer details of a negative experience vs the positive ones.

We can nail detailing so incredibly efficiently and it takes more conviction than a guilty offender to turn that head space around.

In fact-our biochemical messenger system has it so well wired that we can even become addicted to experiences that are negative, toxic or self deprecating.

Much like any addiction, the power is in the trigger, the head chatter and the follow through action.

Here are my steps on how you can stay on track with your food, exercise, alcoholic beverage intake and even your mind chatter:

1. Understand that much of your habit forming will be subconscious, which means that calling it out to raise to conscious thought will be necessary. This means being 100% honest with yourself that you respective repetition patterns maybe locked in and needs to be put on notice.

2. Allow yourself stages of changes - not as a back door excape plan in case you fail, but as a way to bit off smaller pieces of the goal to embed deeper set new healthy patterns and habits.

3. Always choose a healthier option if on offer. This will fortify your will power every time you do. Read ingredient labels, look for fresh produce in the food or clear fluid in the beverage.

4. If you do slip off the edge- give yourself a 48 hour rule to be back on track by.

5. Remember that a week away from your healthy plan won’t equate to a complete fall off the perch results wise. There is time to regain control and move forward still. Don’t give up just because you gave in.

6. Be kind to yourself if you do go off track- the last thing you need right now is negative self talk that will embed poor habit forming again.

7. Reward your achievements with non addictive substances and habits. Think about an experience reward you are aiming for and gift it to yourself - massage, meditation classes, hydrotherapy, facials, pedicures, manicures, nature experiences - they all put back into the fortification account.

8. Get help - it’s ok to sort yourself out a health coach to keep you accountable until you are in the habit of doing it yourself.

9. Consider tapping (Emotional Freedom Technique) as a way to rewire your neural pathways towards more supportive habits. Sessions are available this month and remote appointments are offered through Skype, Messenger or Zoom mediums.

I have also a series of online self paced motivational sessions that are designed for weight management clients but are able to be applied to any (health) goal.

First I wanted to wish all you amazing mums a very happy and restful Mother’s Day for tomorrow.

The title of this blog is mostly for you.

Being a Mum often means putting yourself last on the list when it comes to your basic needs like eating a meal or resting. Even a routine toilet break can be put on hold for unnaturally acceptable timeframes.

When you are mothering - are you still in touch with that playful and awe inspired little girl in you, who dreams to move freely and creatively like a dancer who has the music in them?

Or do you trudge through your day in a messy rush just getting through the mental to do list, consistently judging yourself for not getting it all done?

As mums we often forget to play and to rest fully for a few moments so that we can take stock and put our lives into perspective again. We don’t need much but we do need it. A little reminder can go a long way for a busy caregiver.

Finding your inner child also to Me means tapping back into those moments when you’re younger, where wholesome food was all we had to get us by - so we ate it and went back out to play.

Little did we know our parents back then were showing us how to appreciate the crunch of an apple, the snap of a carrot stick and the juicy ooze of ripe orange.

Go find your inner child, give her a piece of fruit or some sticks of vegetables, encourage her to grab a big drink of water and go back out and play. You haven’t lost her.

She’s still in there.

CLINIC NOTICE

I will relocating the clinic to a new address from 1st July 2018. To keep up to speed with the details of the new clinic, please follow us on Facebook at Wise Healthy Living Natural Therapies @wisehealthyliving for address updates and new offers.

Also here is a link to an awesome kids boxing class which just may be your saving grace one day...

I am saying that to myself as well as you, as I take up position at the keyboard in the name of creative writing after what has been a very long blog break. My apologies for those who were periodically entertained by my healthy ramblings - I may have appeared missing in action but there has been plenty of action, some of which I wish I was missing from...but that's another story all together.

I am stunned by how fast a year goes, my last blog seems to be almost a year ago now - so many moments between that has marked their place in my historical events - but nonetheless to remind me that as I age, I tolerate less 'guff'and focus more acutely on what matters...and that is a great gift to have been given. One of those traits I have become better doing the more senior I get (awesome senior moment #1).

THE CHANGING BRAIN

Science shows us that during times of adversity, even acute stress, our brains will change in size and shape when it comes to numbers of neurons that are available for certain functions. For example, the pre-frontal cortex and hippocampus which manages emotional context, memory, decision making and such - will shrink. Conversely, the amygdala which controls circular thinking, aggression, worry and anxiety - will grow. Have you ever had one of those horrible moments when you're under pressure for something quite stressful but you can't remember where you last put your keys and your already running late?

It would be rare that most of us in this situation would handle it well, with aplomb and calm. We simply cannot access enough neural power to find those keys and go on our merry way. It is not until we calm down and take a moment to literally 'gather our thoughts'. I like to think of it as gathering our neurons instead! It is a good thing that your brain is neuroplastic and when things settle down again has the opportunity to remodel itself back to healthy sizes. Or at least it will if given the opportunity and nutritional support to do so. Ongoing chronic stress without breaks of peace will most definitely challenge this process. Long term stress, inflammation and dehydration may also contribute to early onset mental health decline - well before your golden years have started.

SLOW TRAINING

I have also noticed that my body likes to exercise differently - and after a year or two of recovering from a plethora of silly little time consuming injuries mostly generated by my active pursuits - I have finally arrived to the point of understanding fully how to respect my body in a more regenerative vs degenerative way. I like to call it slow training - less heavy jerky movements, less heavy weight bearing but weight bearing more of my own body weight using different positions (I have a great personal trainer at http://beyondtransformation.com.au/). This is awesome senior moment #2 - self actualization of my body's limitations.

DIGESTIVE WISDOM

My final wonderful senior moment has manifested itself into a digestive reminder that as I age, I need to eat less quantity and more quality of the foods I choose. Although I have always known this, I love my food and sometimes I recognize there have been moments when I have over eaten and paid the price...my ageing digestive system won't let me do this anymore and that is a good thing! In fact, there is ample research that shows that over eating is inflammatory to the body and slowing down the progression of an early death may well be found in eating less, not more. I have also found it easier to kick poor habits as well when they try to creep back in - mainly because my ageing body tells me faster that it doesn't like them!

I love getting older...do you?

For more healthy habits tips and hints, see my contribution to mydeal.com.au healthy habits article...

https://www.mydeal.com.au/blog/post/healthy-habits-to-make

*If you have relatives who would like to explore a FREE day out in the name of wellness and healthy ageing, please - invite them along to Wellness In The Golden Years in Brisbane - see below. RSVP for catering purposes.

As promised, I've gathered the most important snippets of the three day International Congress of Natural Medicine in the area of mood disorders and neuro/mental decline, to deliver to you an easy to read, info-taining piece of literary brilliance. I figure I should capitalize on using my brain as much as I can in creative ways to keep the mental fog from creeping in.

The congress was packed full of revelations, research and current data from all over the world including Australia, to unravel the tangles of aged related deficits in health. To say it was inspirational is an understatement - especially in the area of Alzheimer's management.

Of the most exciting revelations from Dr Dale Bredesen in his presentation - Current Understanding of the Pathophysiology of Dementia and Sub Typing of Patients - Alzheimer's disease is not necessarily a definitive end of the road for all patients. In fact, his findings are that the amyloid plaque found in the brains of Alzheimer patients, is actually something quite common to all of us - its a protective measure your body employs to buffer the effects of trauma, inflammation (from infection or injury), stress and nutrient irregularities.

His video recordings of patients diagnosed with this debilitating condition found that with correct management, their symptoms abated within 6 months and some had their diagnoses turned around. The change on screen was astonishing - and encouraging to say the least.

He also found there are some genetic tests - APOE4/MTHFR - that can be done to determine genetic risk factors (costs about $200 to do the two) and that a simple ratio between albumin/globulin on your usual blood tests your doctor does - will reveal a potential problem on its way to affecting you. Markers of inflammation and heavy metal testing are important too - and together formulates a great starting point for care.

This means that unlike usual prognosis given - we can do something about prevention and there is much to do for management too!

Our arsenal of anti-inflammatory herbs, stress reducing nutrients and good old sound dietary advice can go a long way in stemming decline and even turning around prognoses. To list them here would make your eggs go cold - so if you are interested in following up with some individualized approach to preventing mental decline - let's get together.

Remember - we are all too keen (well maybe not all) to get a colonoscopy in our 40's - perhaps we should be lining up for cognoscopy (not a real thing but our version of a mental panel check) for prevention.

From my family to yours I'd like to wish you a very safe and happy holiday period. If you're like us and camping is a favourite activity of yours, you'll know how important it is to have a comfortable camping experience.

When I mean comfortable I am referring to all the expected comforts that come with being away from your creature habits at home.

Having a healthy camping experience doesn't have to totally detract away from enjoying a few relaxing beverages and some social eating. However you can take the toxic load down a little by these suggestions:

Drink loads of water when you're out and about enjoying the outdoors. It's easy to dehydrate which is not where you want to be when you start happy hour!

Have a plate of fruit available for free picking and cut up veggie sticks on your cheese platter.

Consider packing a probiotic for bloated uncomfortable tummy trouble after a big night.

Before the said big night- try some liver based herbs to help with processing your alcohol effectively.

Electrolytes in lemon, celery, coconut water, lime and cucumber can be handy in recovering from a hangover.

Select a DEET free personal outdoor spray - I've just test run a new one about to be released from Eco Tan and it is not only gentle and smells refreshing, the midgees and mozzies don't love it!

Make sure your meats, eggs, mayonnaise and milks are well refrigerated - a glitch in the cooling process can spell nasty food poisoning.

Allow yourself the luxury of lazy afternoon naps and languid walks. It is therapeutic to rest and take in the environment in slow pace mode...we need this reset to ensure our batteries are thoroughly recharged from the break.

Remember - camping doesn't have to be a debaucherous blur of cheese, booze and crackers- it's the week after camping that your body registers the impact of that!

It is a typical sticky Australian Summer weekend - bright and sunny one day and fiercely storming the next - and this is the perfect representation of any day of our lives.

Its just the beginning of what is said to be a year of intense emotional fluctuations and truth revelations on our planet more so than previous according to certain astrological lineups so our star gazing friends will tell us.

Regardless of whether or not you subscribe to these notions- we all experience emotional ups and downs, we all need to safely and freely express ourselves and we all have a need to enjoy our own quiet space so we can 'hear' our thoughts and regain our mental and emotional bearings. Like a vessel on the oceans of life - we often need to check on our direction and reset our navigation in response to the changes in the metaphorical weather of our lives.

So do you allow yourself this time and space to retreat, reset and regain? If you do, is it successful?

I am writing from a sanctuary retreat today and I am surrounded by bird noises and a gently windswept lake teaming with curious turtles. It's a magical space and a perfect opportunity to close my eyes, listen to the fauna conversations, feel the breeze against my face and rest myself in the mind in preparation for my next week.

Today I am fortunate to be here but you don't need to physically retreat in order to reset.

It is beneficial for your adrenal and nervous systems (and the systems their chemicals affect under flight and fight) to regularly (daily) shut down shop and gently come back to yourself. In this space the following can happen:

Your breathing will regulate and you will oxygenate your body well whilst removing toxins through the breath effectively - weight gaining toxins.

Your heart rate will slow and regain rhythm and your circulatory system will show less inflammatory signs of damage.

Your blood glucose levels will balance and your insulin hormones will be responded to effectively insuring long term health and slower ageing signs.

You will enjoy a clearer head space and a happier disposition

Remember - turtle therapy is incredibly nourishing if it's done mindfully and respectfully for you and those around you.

Happy Saturday! Its a wet and windy one here on the Gold Coast which means its a great weekend to spend some time cooking up the next week's healthy treats, quick freezer meals with your own ingredients and allowing yourself some reading or movie watching time. If you are finding yourself flat and uninspired - how about creating a vision board and letting your creative brain take over the controls for a while?

I often hear from patients that their doctor has more or less ended their options when it comes to their health recovery, stating that nothing else can be done (based on the fact that the research they have read says so). In most cases, a patient will take that information as final and cease searching for solutions outside the box, of which there are often many. If you are lucky enough to have a doctor that understands the importance of nutrition, herbal medicine and the relationship between gut care and health - you are in very good hands.

When I am having this conversation with a patient, it is usually because someone or something has prompted them to consider integrative medicine approaches to find another possible solution- of which there are many. Even if the initial results are not impacting directly on the issue at hand, for some a small improvement in health and vitality offers a glimpse that their body is responsive in one area, and therefore may be in others.

Here are the top 5 health statements I find need further clarification based on integrative research that your doctor may not have considered:

There is nothing that can be done for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia. In fact, there is loads of research and even basic science that states that fatigue can be influenced by a deficiency in nutrients like Iron, Magnesium, B Vitamins, Co Enzyme Q 10 and trace minerals. Even recommending more water intake by your GP could be a solution. Other factors influencing fatigue syndromes include past or present viral infections, adrenal hormone exhaustion and underlying infections from parasites like Lyme Disease from tick and flea bites and bacterial imbalances.

Viruses can be treated with antibiotics, otherwise there is nothing to do but get bed rest. Although bed rest is helpful when suffering viral infections, there is much more that can help your body recover faster and more comfortably. Antibiotic therapy will not impact a virus other than to enhance its take on the body. They will however address a secondary bacterial infection if also present however also reduces your immune functions by way of altering your probiotic (immune balancing bacteria), allowing the virus to keep on taking over and replicating itself. There are numerous nutrients, herbs and even homeopathic remedies taken in frequent doses that can help alleviate symptoms giving rise to an immune response - for now and for later possible infections.

The medication I've prescribed is the only way proven to help your condition. Whilst in part and in some cases this may be true, rarely is this the ONLY way to help your condition. For example, an inflammatory condition in autoimmune diseases such as Crohn's disease for example, is not only responsive to corticosteroid therapy alone. In fact, steroids can deplete and break down other systems over time and are not meant for long time use, as are proton pump inhibitors (gastric acid suppressants) - which were only ever meant for 12-13 week prescribing. Adjunct therapies addressing nutrient depletion caused by the disease and then also often by the medication, supporting healthy mucus membrane integrity and improving the stress response can all aid in reducing inflammatory markers.

Panadol is helpful during pain caused by infection. Research is available to show that paracetamol found in medications like Panadol delay the immune response to infections and are therefore not the most effective pain relief medication under these circumstances. This is particularly important when treating a child's pain during an infection - other non paracetamol medications and preparations could be more effective. Many herbs contain active ingredients for pain relief. An example of this is Willow Bark - a plant high in salicylic acid which is the active ingredient in Aspirin. Other herbs are useful in pain such as Wintergreen (muscle pain and sprains), Devil's Claw (arthritis), Cramp Bark (arthritis and period pain), Californian Poppy (general pain relief), Fennel (griping gut pain), Feverfew (headache). D- Ribose is a useful nutrient in muscle pain and fatigue as is good old magnesium. There are numerous homeopathic remedies I use for various presentations of pain, and when matched to the patient well, work fast and safely without loading the liver and kidneys.

Hormones are only able to be tested by drawing blood. Incorrect. The fact is that urinary salivary hormonal testing has been around for some time and is often a more accurate representation of what is actually happening inside by reflecting what your body is metabolizing (or not) effectively. These results also commonly matches well to the presentation of the patient whereas the blood tests often do not. When you are turned away still feeling the effect of your hormones, and after your doctor has seen a 'normal' blood test, maybe consider an alternative test option to show your true hormonal changes. Thyroid hormones do need to be tested by bloods however, but a simple TSH test is not enough information to go by to warrant a prescription of long term thyroid medication.

Remember - if you feel as though you are not getting the full picture on your health, ask more questions until you feel clear. It is your body, your right to vitality and you are also an expert on what is good for you!

This worskshop has been created as a general guide to understanding your lifestyle choices in relation to results found on routine tests from your GP. Nicky will be covering the following test results and the importance of their ranges when it comes to how you eat, drink, move and supplement on a day to day basis: Full Blood Count, E/LFT, Iron, Cholesterol, Triglycerides, Thyroid Stimulating Hormone, Vitamin D and CRP.

Nicky will also cover the best tests to ask for when faced with common health concerns such as fatigue, headaches, sleep disturbances,high blood pressure and sleep irregularities.

This worskshop has been created as a general guide to understanding your lifestyle choices in relation to results found on routine tests from your GP. Nicky will be covering the following test results and the importance of their ranges when it comes to how you eat, drink, move and supplement on a day to day basis: Full Blood Count, E/LFT, Iron, Cholesterol, Triglycerides, Thyroid Stimulating Hormone, Vitamin D and CRP.

Nicky will also cover the best tests to ask for when faced with common health concerns such as fatigue, headaches, sleep disturbances,high blood pressure and sleep irregularities.

Your workshop fee includes a healthy afternoon tea, an E-Book and a consultation voucher and of course your invaluable information delivered by yours truly! Spread the word and invite your friends - EARLY BIRD CLOSES 25.10.14.

As a naturopath I believe that patients are looking for empathy, results oriented and achievable health advice as well as consideration for the family budget when it comes to supplement and remedy selection.Nicky Wood -Gold Coast Naturopath